Ok, so I thought my first (historical) post should be the only time I've ever flown First Class with any airline. I mean, it's a travel blog, right? Might as well start with a goodie.
It's worthwhile to note that this First Class seat was obtained using a BA Amex companion voucher, and wasn't actually bought with cash - this would have set me back something to the tune of £5,000+. The cost was a whopping 238,000 Avios (off-peak) and approx. £500 in taxes. Steep, but not "actual money" steep. That being said, it was a 12.5 hour flight, so…
Anyway, cue me being excited like a kid in a sweetshop about the whole First Class experience, with BA 33 departing from BA's flagship Terminal 5. Being able to breeze through check in and security in the dedicated (and really handsome) First Class area at the far end of the terminal building was really special because it was such a rare experience. The area is light, airy and calming, and the staff on hand were charming, personable and helpful. Passing through that area took less than five minutes, and I was straight into the business class lounge, but swiftly made my way to the Concorde Lounge, which is for First Class guests and BA Executive Club Gold (oneworld Emerald) status holders.
On the whole, it was really nice, with swift service and good cocktails, but it didn't really have much ambience; it was deathly quiet, kinda like a library. There was no ambient music, no chatter... nothing; just the clinking of cutlery and crockery. So strange! I grabbed a bite to eat from the a la carte menu/dining area once my friend had arrived, which was delicious. I then popped to the Elemis Spa next door for my pre-booked 15 minute massage. This service is bookable for First Class passengers 28 days in advance of your flight, but hurry - the appointments get snapped up quickly! It was nice having a quick back and neck massage before moving through the terminal to our gate for our flight - super relaxing!
So, after a quick subterranean ride between the satellite buildings, we made our way to our gate, and after a few minutes wait, we were first to board the 787-900 Dreamliner.
The cabin was quite dark, as our departure was 17:55hrs and it was mid-January, but the crew greeted me by name and showed me to my seat, 2A. I was honestly kinda blown away; I'd never had so much room on a flight before. I'm 6'1" (185cm) tall, and I could barely reach the ottoman with my feet. I also had two windows! I love looking out the window when I fly, so this was great. The seat itself was really wide and comfortable, and the surrounds were handsome with a mature, sleek feel and premium materials. Overall the cabin felt really luxurious and exclusive, with lots of personal privacy. The table lamp was especially elegant, and the pull-out gloss table was really large and felt solid. There was a couple of storage cubbies for your bits and pieces, like a passport, phone, cables, iPad etc, and a handy (but slim) vertical cupboard for your coat/jacket. Unfortunately, the latch for mine was broken, and during take off this rattled like crazy and couldn't be closed properly. The only real niggle was that (typically for BA), the suite wasn't especially clean, with finger marks on the windows and obvious crumbs about the place. This is something BA really need to get on top of as it's one of the most basic elements of presentation and has such an impact, for better or worse.
Anyway - awaiting me in the suite was my (extensive) menu, and an amenity kit from The White Company in a small, handsome black leather pouch filled with all sorts of fancy goodies; lip balm, moisturisers, y'know the like. The incredibly friendly crew popped back to the seat once I'd finished messing about with my bags and took my drinks order of champagne while we waited for the rest of the passengers to board, as well as asking what size PJs I'd like for the flight (which appeared mere seconds later!)
The crew on this flight were absolutely amazing - honestly, so good. The flight back on BA 34 however... erk! I'll get to *that* in a follow-up post. BA have notoriously inconsistent levels of service regardless of class, so I was really glad this crew were already going above my expectations. I told her this was my first time in First, and so she showed me all the features of the seat, how to move it to whatever configuration I wanted (the fancy control-all dial for which is so cool). She also showed me how to use the IFE controller, where everything was in and around the suite, and to use the bell if I needed anything at all. I especially liked that the crew all crouched when talking to you so you were at eye-level with them when sat down; this was a personable, subliminal touch as you didn't feel like they were looming over you. I really like it when crew take even a minute for a bit of chat - it just raises the experience for me and makes it more real. Airlines harp on all the time about how valued their customers are, but unless the crew reflect that in their actions on the ground and on board, it's just words. This crew made me feel like I was royalty.
Now, I am not usually one for sleeping on planes for the following reasons; I'm usually in Premium Economy (so sleeping in a chair is weird, right?), ambient noises (even with headphone/earplugs) make me fairly alert and even minor movement all keep me just on the cusp of actual sleep, but the turndown service and comfortableness of the bed were wonderful, and lulled me off to the land of nod for a good 4 or 5 hours, which is a record for me.
The IFE was standard for BA in whatever class of travel, the only real difference being the screen size, which was huge. Luckily the screen fixed instead of a pop-out type like in Club World or non-787-900 First Classes, which meant you could watch whatever you're watching gate-to-gate. The selection was pretty good, with some really good retro titles loaded - I was especially excited to watch The Lost Boys with my meal, as I'd not seen it in ages.
Speaking of meals, let's talk about the food. BA offer dine-on-demand in First which is great so you can really tailor your time on board to suit your plans. I was easy (so to speak) and just asked for whatever was the least fuss in terms of the crew's own schedule. The selection on board was pretty good, and I opted for the mezze to start, and for the main I had beef fillet which was really nicely charred, and came with some grilled veggies and a jus. The dessert was a syrup sponge which was gorgeous. All the food was presented beautifully throughout, and the service was like being in a high-end restaurant. The wines too were explained to me in some detail, and I chose a good Argentinian Malbec from Mendoza. Breakfast was another matter as I made the grave error of choosing curried kedgeree with poached eggs. Whyyyy did I choose eggs on a plane?! They're always awful. Which is actually a shame, as the lightly curried kedgeree was bloody lovely. One thing which was great that I'd never seen on a plane before was the availability of a coffee machine that could produce lattes and cappuccinos instead of the standard coffee with/without milk - this was a nice little bonus with breakfast.
The toilets in First Class were the same size as any other class - aka *tiny*. Getting changed into my PJs in what is effectively a cupboard with a toilet in was like a beginner's course in contortionism, resulting in several bashes of elbows and knees and a few bits of profanity, but at least they were clean, but certainly nothing to get excited about. And anyway, who gets excited about toilets, other than Kim Woodburn?
Our descent into Kuala Lumpur was smooth and we landed a few minutes early, which was nice. Going from a cool aircraft cabin to Malaysia's blazing heat and humidity was pretty jarring though! I'll write up some posts about things to do in Kuala Lumpur in another blog post.
I've found a few pictures from the flight lurking in my phone, but I didn't go wild as I didn't think I'd be making a blog about travel in the future, haha!
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